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Howzabout a remake of Ocean’s Eleven starring Sylvia Plath and Christina Rossetti, produced by Hammer Horror – sounds good? This is it. I’m being flippant, of course, but for a collection as thoroughly immersed in movie lore as Jinx, a Hollywood elevator pitch feels like the most fitting introduction.

In Abigail Parry’s eagerly awaited debut, Bette Davis rubs shoulders with the Creature from the Black Lagoon. One highlight, “The Wolf Man”, is a captivating monologue in the voice of Lon Cheney Jr, who forged a movie career trading on the legacy of his silent film star father: “Only his name was left. I couldn't hock it/ so I wore it. It swallowed me in one gulp.” For Parry, the sight of a wedding...